American Cancer Society Making Strides Steering Committee: Chicago Kick-Off Breakfast

Location: Macy’s – State Street
Date: Thursday, August 15, 2013; 6:30-8:30 am

Due to scheduling conflicts, I had not been able to attend several of the ACS steering committee meetings, though I tried to stay involved by following the email chains and meeting notes.  Every August, ACS kicks-off the count-down to the walk by hosting a breakfast where the top fundraisers and some of the past survivors are invited.  Today was that day and being a committee member, not only was I going to be in attendance, but would also be volunteering.  This meant a reporting time of 6:30 am…hey, at least it wasn’t 4:30 like the Avon Walk!

The room was spectacular

The event was to be held in Macy’s on State Street and I arrived to find that we were to be let in through a small service door on the side.  I checked in and was told to take the elevator to the 7th floor where the event was being conducted.  It was a strange feeling as I walked through the empty store, amongst the various merchandise areas, many of which were still in dark.  I arrived upstairs and followed someone who looked like a caterer, hoping that he would lead me to the right place.  What I found was a fantastic room which had a fountain in the middle and had been decorated for the occasion with pink balloons and other pink paraphernalia.  It truly looked magnificent and I thought if the occasion lived up to the room’s decor, we were in for a splendid morning.  

Every table had a reminder of why we were here

I saw Janae from ACS and asked her if people who were attending the event had paid to do so. She said no, it was by invitation only, and ACS still needed to pay for the food.  I told her how Macy’s supports Make-A-Wish Foundation and perhaps we should ask if they can help out next year through subsidizing the breakfast. She said that Macy’s has a lot of charities to support, so while we could try, it was unlikely they could do something.  I guess she was right, but doesn't hurt to make a case.  The guests would be arriving soon and the breakfast would be starting in an hour.  The first task for volunteers was to guide them to the right place.  We were given signs with arrows and dispatched to stand on the streets pointing the people towards Macy’s entrance.  When asked how we would know who was attending, we were told that people would probably notice the pink sign and stop to ask for directions. Well, that sounded right. 

"In case of an emergency, please follow the arrow"

A few of the volunteers went on the streets and started scouting for the appropriate location to station ourselves.  I went and stood across the street from Macy’s but soon realized that it did not make any sense since I figured people at least knew where the store was, even if they did not know the right entrance.  I sometimes think that these things are done more for promotional reasons and there’s nothing wrong with that. So I went down State Street and found a spot near a sleeping homeless man who was under a comfortable looking blanket.  I held up my arrow and very soon a guy in a suit walked up to me and asked for directions to the entrance.  A bit later another gentleman walked up and asked for general directions towards Monroe Street – in Spanish!  I pointed him in the right way, as I did some other women who asked me if they were headed south.  Hey, if I was going to be standing there, might as well make myself useful.  

Everyone was energized

There really wasn’t much to do but see the city come to life in these early hours, and the most exciting part for me was watching a woman try to parallel park in reverse.  The pillar of the ‘L’ was throwing her off and I tried my best to help her adjust, but despite our combined efforts she gave up and moved on.  A few minutes later another car did manage to accomplish the feat cleanly.  I guess if you are motivated enough to find a parking spot in Chicago, you have to put in the effort.  I was beginning to think that they had forgotten about us, but at 8 am someone came to gather the volunteers and we went upstairs to join the festivities.  I grabbed some breakfast with another volunteer and we sat down to listen to the various speeches, which were to be the signature agenda items this morning.  It started with the recognition of the “Pace Setters” or people who had raised over $2,500 and continued with many survivor stories from family members or the actual survivors, including ABC News’ traffic reporter who gave a rousing speech that drew the biggest applause.  I looked around the room and everyone seemed energized by this morning, not least a guy who was dressed like ‘The Tick’ and was robustly cheering everything.  I asked someone if he was a mascot and no one seemed to know.  Whatever he was, he had the right attitude and as I left for work this morning, I knew that we were on the right track to host a terrific event come October 26th.